Reworking of state indigent defense spending signed into law

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana will rework how it spends the money it allocates to defending the poor, to ensure two-thirds of it flows to local indigent defenders, under a new law signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

That measure was among a package of bill signings released Monday evening by the governor's office.

The bill by Rep. Sherman Mack, an Albany Republican, requires the Louisiana Public Defender Board to dedicate at least 65 percent of its annual financing to local defenders of the indigent, which have been struggling with financial shortfalls.

Other bills signed by Edwards will ban hotels, convention centers and trade shows from blocking personal access to mobile phone hotspots and enact a legal framework and set penalties for prosecuting Louisiana grave robbers.